University clinic allows dogs in the hospital

Pets at the bedside are still the exception

09/03/2015

For hygiene reasons, pets are not hospitalized, according to many doctors and other experts. The University Hospital Göttingen in Lower Saxony has recently become an exception. At the palliative ward, dogs are allowed to visit their seriously ill owners for emotional support. „It's a great opportunity to have your loved ones - and animals too - around, "says Friedemann Nauck, Director of the Clinic for Palliative Medicine, to the news agency „dpa“.

Pets can emotionally support patients in the hospital
But there are clear rules for bringing the animals, emphasizes Nauck. So the dogs should not run indiscriminately in the hallways. The hospital rooms of the palliative care unit have direct access via the terrace, so that the animals could have contact with the patients without disturbing other patients or the hospital staff. But the animals must be healthy, the clinic director continued. That was the basic requirement. In addition, they should have lived with the patient before.

The Palliative Clinic is a facility that caters to seriously ill patients with incurable, progressive and terminal illnesses. In particular, the care of those affected is about relieving the burdening symptoms of pain, respiratory distress or depression. The animals can positively influence the mental state of the seriously ill by giving them support and support.

Pets are banned in most hospitals
In other hospitals, for sanitary reasons, strict pet prohibition applies. „In our hospital the bringing of pets according to hygiene regulations in the sense of patient safety is completely prohibited. Exceptions are trained assistance dogs, "reports Thomas Helmke, spokesman for the Hospital Wolfsburg, to the news agency.At the General Hospital in Celle, Lower Saxony also applies pet prohibition, as the spokeswoman Franziska Bauermeister told the agency.

In Tel Aviv, Israel, a recent case caused a sensation when a long-haired half-breed dog was so reluctant to be separated from her sick master that she was admitted to the clinic. The doctors even allowed the animal to lie next to the patient in the hospital bed.

German hospital society rejects animals in clinics for hygienic reasons
„Basically, animals have to stay away from station areas, but in a particular case can be deviated from it, if it allows the medical treatment, "says Marten Bielefeld of the Hospital Society of Lower Saxony News Agency.The German Hospital Society refuses animals, however, apart from guide dogs for hygiene reasons in clinics But even some hygienists are not entirely against pets in hospitals, and in certain cases clinicians should consider doing so, emphasizes Uwe Frank, hygiene specialist from Heidelberg, to the agency, advising that people visit the animals without spending the night at the clinic. „For example, if an elderly gentleman had a heart attack, I could imagine that.“ This applies especially to dogs, as long as they have a veterinary certificate about their health and are clean. „That could have positive emotional effects on the patient. "

According to Frank, however, it is difficult with other animals. „In birds, I would rather reserved, they are not controllable, not educable, put their feces somewhere. Even with reptiles, I would say no, they often have Salmonella in the intestine. "Cats are also unsuitable for hygienic reasons. „And even a horse can not come to the clinic, of course. It has its limits, "said the hygiene specialist, and dogs could become a health hazard at certain wards. „In clinics that specialize in tumor diseases, patients are extremely immunodeficient - of course I would not do that. "Likewise, visiting pets in patients with open wounds did not make sense.